In the field of generating and distributing acoustical energy (e.g., audio), and in particular in situations where the acoustical energy is to be received and understood by a large number of listeners who are distributed over a given area, it is common to use a loudspeaker arrangement consisting of multiple horns, especially for high frequency sounds. Horns can be used not only to enhance the output from high frequency drivers, but also to control the directionality of the sounds being broadcast. Horns can be designed to provide specific directional acoustical energy distribution characteristics. In this regard, various shapes and configurations of horns have been utilized for acoustical energy distribution.
In modern loudspeaker systems, high frequency drivers are typically paired with lower frequency cone-type speakers, which are able to move much larger volumes of air than a high frequency driver coupled to a horn. Thus, generally, it is common to place a relatively large number of high frequency speaker drivers and corresponding horns in the same enclosure which may include relatively fewer lower frequency cone-type speakers. It is desirable to place the high frequency drivers in close enough proximity to each other to achieve a physical spacing between devices that is related to bandwidth. In this regard, the horn exits are spaced apart along a common plane at a distance which is less than a wavelength of the output sound across the primary operating bandwidth of the high frequency speaker, thereby in an effort to reduce or avoid grating lobes. Thus, there is a need for horn speaker arrangements that are very compact but still provide the desired directional control of the audio generated by the high frequency driver. The present disclosure provides high frequency horn-type speaker arrangements that seek to address the foregoing situation.